Multisensory impairment reported by veterans with and without mild traumatic brain injury history

1
Multisensory impairment reported by veterans with
and without mild traumatic brain injury history

• Terri K. Pogoda, PhD Ann M. Hendricks, PhD
  Katherine M. Iverson, PhD Kelly L. Stolzmann,
  MS Maxine H. Krengel, PhD Errol Baker, PhD
  Mark Meterko, PhD Henry L. Lew, MD, PhD

2

• Aim
• Identify co-occurrence of self-reported auditory,
  visual, and vestibular impairment, known as
  multisensory impairment (MSI).
• Examine demographic, deployment-related, and
  mental health characteristics that might predict
  MSI.
• Relevance
• Growing literature suggests auditory, visual, and
  vestibular symptoms are common among Operation
  Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom
  (OIF/OEF) veterans with traumatic brain injury
  (TBI).

3
Methods

• Retrospective database study of veterans
  completing Department of Veterans Affairs
  comprehensive TBI evaluation between Oct 2007 and
  Jun 2009.
• 3 sets of logistic regressions were performed to
  predict MSI
• Each demographic, deployment-related, and mental
  health variable was entered separately.
• All variables except PTSD and depression were
  entered simultaneously.
• All variables were entered simultaneously.

4
Results

• MSI
• Across sample 13.9.
• Subsample with mild TBI and both nonblast and
  blast injuries 17.4.
• Factors significantly predictive of reporting
  MSI
• Older age, being female, lower rank, and etiology
  of injury.
• Deployment-related mild TBI history,
  posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression.
• Mild TBI history most robust among these
  conditions.

5
Distribution () of patient-reported sensory
impairment.
6
Conclusion

• A better understanding of impairments incurred by
  deployed servicemembers
• Is needed to fully understand spectrum of blast
  and nonblast dysfunction.
• May allow for more targeted interventions to be
  developed to address these issues.